The March to Victory
by Deastrumquodvicis
Summary: Commander Lu Ten leads his army into battle against the Earth Kingdom at the siege of Ba Sing Se.


This was the day. The day we'd finally break through the wall of Ba Sing Se. I'd waited my whole life for this moment, the moment our victory in this war was assured. The day that, after a hundred years, we could truly call ourselves a global nation. We'd launch the final strike against the enemy at daybreak.  
>Earlier that night, I'd written a letter to my father assuring him that we'd toast our victory, celebrating our honorable conquest of the Earth Kingdom and the end of this bloody war. Toasting cups of tea, naturally; my father rarely drank anything else. The warm jasmine smell would fill the war-tent and we'd laugh about life, prepared at last to return home.<br>For more than five hundred days we'd pounded the wall with everything we had. Now was the time for a final, deadly blow. I imagined the fun my young cousins would have, listening to me tales of war while the heat of the fire made it too distant to be painful, yet too close to forget. My aunt, Ursa, would hug her children at the scary bits and hide them from terrible things. It had been too long since I'd seen them. But being apart from family is a part of war, and I was a soldier, no other way about it. I was also royalty, destined to take the throne after my father. However, I had the privilege that many soldiers did not—my father, too, was fighting in the war; indeed he was leading the attack.  
>And for a member of the Fire Nation, honor is above all else. If someone nicks the armor of honor, they are challenged to a fire duel. Among soldiers, these duels were fought in the event of insubordination or other such crime. And we, as a people, were fighting to preserve our honor.<br>But more than honor lay in this fight, for me at least. I'd already seen two of my closest friends, Zhi and Krezin, fall, slaughtered by the Earthbenders. I was going to get revenge for their deaths if it was the last thing I ever did.  
>"Commander," one of the men asked me.<br>"Yes?"  
>"There have been reports of the Earth Kingdom army massing on the other side of the wall. Sir, we're badly outnumbered."<br>"I am well aware of that, Kono, but we need to maintain strict communication silence, in case there are spies about. All messages were supposed to be sent last night, no exceptions, not even for inquiries. Father's orders. Do you doubt my ability to lead our division into battle?"  
>Despite being a good two decades younger than the lieutenant, he understood that I was in command, and not him. A challenge now would be unfortunate for him.<br>"No, sir."  
>"Well, then." I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly. "Get some rest. We'll need it for the battle tomorrow."<p>

My dream that night was strange. My father turned his face from me, ashamed, or sad. He did not speak to me. My ten-year-old cousin, Zuko, looked at me sadly.  
>"Why did you abandon us?"<br>I tried to ask him what he meant, but I could not speak. Zuko vanished into a cloud of smoke. My other cousin, Azula, spoke to someone or something unseen:  
>"I wish he would die. Then I'll get the throne."<br>That made no sense to me—even if I die, my father would still gain the throne, and his brother after him. Then Zuko and his heirs. Azula would never be in the line.  
>Uncle Ozai's cruel laughter filled the sudden darkness of my dream before I had a vision of myself laying on the ground, asleep. No, not asleep; dead. There was a dagger in my heart, blood pooling under my head. Then I was pulled away, as if flying, only to hear Zuko say—<br>"We needed you..."

I was awakened by Kono entering my tent. His golden eyes shone, reflecting both my torch light and the adrenaline pumping inside all of us.  
>"It's almost dawn."<p>

I gathered my soldiers together, ready to make a speech. It had to be inspirational, stirring, blood-boiling. I had to give them a reason to fight.  
>"You have served the Fire Nation well," I told them. "Now comes the true test. All of you have known someone who has died in this siege. May they be in our thoughts and our hearts as we fight with much fire; a raging inferno of our people. This day, the six hundredth day of this battle, will find a place in the history books. We are outnumbered and without defense, fighting far away from our homes and families. No matter what this day will bring, no one will dare to forget the Siege of Ba Sing Se. My father, General Iroh, has given me the authorization and the orders to march on this city and into it. In just a few minutes, as the sun rises and warms the blood in our veins, we act on our plans. We march to victory! We will head to the palace and burn its very foundations to ashes! Good luck, my brave warriors, and may the spirits look on our strike favorably!"<p>

Standing on the battlefield, we waited. It had been a cold night, and the frost of my breath only added to the group exhilaration. The troops were fidgety in their places, but no one dared break rank. The sky was brightening. Finally, the sun rose.  
>"Let's write history," I whispered.<p>

We poured through the gap in the wall like water through a broken dam. I could hear alarmed shouts from the Earth Kingdom soldiers, shocked at our ferocity, and I could almost feel the emotions in the air.  
>And right ahead of me was the man who had taken my friends from me. We locked eyes, and the fire in mine instilled fear in his. I ran at him, my sword sharpened crisply, and ran my blade through his terrified face, the rest of him fell to the ground, a heap of fallen flesh and matted blood.<br>I charged, only dimly aware that the captains on either side of me had either split off or had died. But where was Kono? He was supposed to be with me as well. Was he hiding? I would have a word with him about that tonight.  
>Then I saw him, fighting off two Earthbenders singlehandedly. We would win this fight together, despite our differences of opinion and our choices of battle styles. I turned, and saw just how many of our soldiers had fallen. The number was small compared to the bodies of Earth Kingdom men strewn about the field. We were winning.<br>I took my lead men and charged straight for the palace. The smell of blood filled the air, along with the screams. But the sunlight was strong, and I would fight until the last.  
>Suddenly I noticed I was running alone. My comrades were gone. But I had to keep going. My honor and my destiny depended on this one act, the storming of the palace. I was just outside of the inner gate when I heard a noise behind me. Kono had been run through with a spear. I was shocked. I had to go on.<br>I turned and realized several things.  
>First, there was an Earth Kingdom soldier in front of me.<br>Second, my chest felt inexplicably warm and wet.  
>Third, the sun felt like it was growing colder and a pain ran through me.<p>

Things were going black, but I could still make out running feet from both nations, scurrying past me. The Firebenders were catching their enemy on fire. The Earthbenders drowned my people in the ground.  
>Then, in my mind, as the darkness became absolute, I heard Zuko's voice:<br>"Why did you abandon us?"  
>Then there was nothing, ever again.<p> 


End file.
